Pakistan reject West Indies request for tour change

KARACHI, June 21 (Reuters) Pakistan have rejected a request from the West Indies cricket board to change the itinerary for their tour later this year.

West Indies are due to play three tests and five one-day internationals in Pakistan in November and December, their first visit to the country since 1997-98.

''They wanted to play a Twenty20 match on Nov. 17 before coming to Pakistan and asked us to reschedule the dates. But we have told them it can't be done due to time constraints and the tour starts from Nov 7,'' a Pakistan cricket board official said today.

A scheduled West Indies tour in 2002 was switched to neutral venue Sharjah after they refused to play in Pakistan due to security concerns following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S.

REUTERS AY HT1432